An Ominous Descent
"We will be descending shortly."
The transport plane approached the summit of Mount Yatate.
The seven hunters, excluding Park Geumja who was on standby in Busan, planned to enter Tsushima Island via Mount Yatate.
The Japanese government had suggested they all enter together on one of their naval vessels, but Choi Muryeong had declined, citing a gut feeling that "something felt off."
As a result, the Korean team was now entering Tsushima by air, using a military transport plane to land on the mountain.
Of course, whether they took a plane or a boat, Lee Taepyeong didn't care in the slightest.
He had only one thing on his mind.
How can I kill the most Kappa in the shortest amount of time?
Even if it was a Demonic Outbreak, to Taepyeong, it was nothing more than a 1.5x EXP event.
At least, that was how he saw it for now.
Rumble, rumble, rumble!
The military transport plane couldn't get any closer to Tsushima than this. Once they entered the zone of the Demonic Outbreak, all electronic equipment would go completely dead.
And so, the hunters of Korea's Team 1 and Team 2 prepared to drop.
"Let's go," said Seo Inha.
Seo Inha was the Guild Master of the Baekya Guild and the world's number seven hunter. With the help of his Blackhole trait, which allowed him to manipulate gravity and force fields, they made their descent.
"Oh, wow. This is a really strange feeling," Taepyeong remarked.
The hunters landed as silently and softly as feathers. Having never experienced Seo Inha's ability before, Taepyeong couldn't hide his amazement.
"It feels just like riding an elevator!"
"Haha, is that so?" Seo Inha replied with a relaxed smile.
The Guild Master had joined this Tsushima raid for one primary reason: Lee Taepyeong.
Although he knew Taepyeong had founded the Typhoon Guild and stood on his own, Inha still believed there was a chance to recruit him. More than anything, he wanted to witness Taepyeong's overwhelming power with his own eyes.
Though what I saw at the training ground was already more than enough...
Indeed, Taepyeong had won a crushing victory against Nakamura Ryohei, the world's number four hunter.
Some might argue that the outcome would have been different in a 'real' life-or-death fight, but in Seo Inha's mind, the matter was already settled.
Despite both being damage dealers, the difference in their physical capabilities was night and day. Taepyeong might not have an official ranking yet, but he undoubtedly possessed the skill to easily rank within the world's top five.
The reason Taepyeong didn't care about rankings was likely the same reason he hadn't joined any other guild.
There was simply no need.
Rumor had it that he had even rejected an offer from Leo White's guild, Wright. Was that sheer confidence?
No. There was definitely something deeper to a man like Lee Taepyeong.
"Behind you!" a scream echoed across the shoreline.
"Kieeeeee!"
A swarm of Kappa surrounded the split remains of the boat as if they had been waiting.
"It's not behind us! It's below!"
In an instant, the monsters grabbed the Japanese hunters by their ankles and dragged them down into the sea.
"Pfft!"
"Kieeeek!"
"Pah!"
"Kyaaa!"
With four or five Kappa clinging to each hunter and dragging them down, they were utterly helpless.
"Get a hold of—gurgle!"
All their training had assumed combat would take place on the land of Tsushima Island. They hadn't prepared for underwater combat at all.
And why would they? The Kappa of Tsushima were currently in their breeding season. During this period, they stayed strictly on land until they laid their eggs.
Because of this, the number of Kappa spotted near the coast had dropped significantly.
That was why the Japanese team had chosen to approach by sea on naval vessels rather than hiking down from the mountains.
But reality betrayed their expectations.
Squelch!
"Aaargh!"
"Kieeeeee!"
"H-help me!"
The swarm of Kappa had ambushed Team 2's boat at the exact coordinates, as if they had known the route all along.
"W-we have to help them..."
"Don't be stupid! Team 1's boat is too close! We can't attack without hitting them!"
"T-then what do we do?"
"Wait! Nakamura will handle it somehow...!"
However, the situation on Team 1's boat, where Nakamura Ryohei was, wasn't much better.
While a swarm of about thirty Kappa focused their assault on Team 2's boat, several of them were already swimming toward Team 1.
Slash!
Nakamura Ryohei sliced through a Kappa that attempted to leap onto the boat.
"We have to help them...!"
Nakamura made a move toward Team 2's boat, but Kenji grabbed his arm, stopping him.
"We have a greater mission to accomplish!" Kenji urged.
"Kenji!"
"Rei! Get us to the beach, now!"
Kurosawa Rei looked between Nakamura and Kenji for a brief second before grabbing the wheel and accelerating.
Vrooooom!
The boat's engine roared as it sped away.
The Japanese hunters of Team 2 watched the retreating boat with faces full of despair.
"Kyaaaak!"
"Glub...!"
They were dragged down into the dark depths of the ocean, their limbs pinned by the swarming Kappa.
All their training was useless underwater. None of them had ever imagined they would be ambushed by a horde of Kappa at sea.
Bubble, bubble...
The dying breath of the hunters rose to the surface in a trail of bubbles.
Riiip!
Their scalps were torn away.
Thud! Crack!
Their skulls were crushed.
The Japanese hunters of Team 2, dragged down into the abyss, were being reborn as Kappa.
Bubble, bubble...
Carrying a boiling rage deep within their chests.
A thick fog blanketed the mountain ridge.
"Hmm..."
I looked around.
It looked like an ordinary mountain, with not a single Kappa shadow in sight.
But the smell was different.
Instead of the crisp, clean air of a dense forest, it smelled of blood, stagnant water, and rotting meat.
The stench drifted up, growing stronger and stronger the further down the mountain we went.
Squish.
Once we crossed past a red torii gate at the foot of the mountain, the sickening odor became overwhelming.
"Blegh!"
Maeng Juim actually gagged.
For a guy who looks like that, he's got a surprisingly weak stomach...
I let out a dry chuckle and surveyed our surroundings.
Toppled utility poles, sagging power lines, and buildings coated in an unidentified sticky fluid met my eyes.
Piles of bones and corpses littered every alleyway.
"Is this where it starts?"
It seemed the area from the foot of the mountain to the coast, marked by the torii gate we had just passed, was the Kappa's territory.
"Kiyaaaaa!"
"Kieeeee—!"
The distant, intermittent shrieks of Kappa echoed through the air.
Choi Muryeong glanced toward the source of the noise and spoke.
"We will split into Team 1 and Team 2 from here."
Team 1 consisted of Ban Haeyeong, Han Sion, Seo Inha, and Sim Iyeong.
Team 2 consisted of Choi Muryeong, Maeng Juim, and me.
"Whichever team finds the breeding ground first will signal the other," Muryeong said, handing a flare to each hunter.
Sim Iyeong raised her hand slightly, her face tight with tension.
"Um, but if we use this, won't the Kappa also know where we are...?"
"Yes. They will," Muryeong nodded, stating it as a matter of fact.
Well, obviously. Kappa had eyes and ears, so they would definitely see the flare burst in the sky.
Sensing danger, they would swarm toward the signal.
"But we will be faster."
Muryeong's voice was firm, dismissing her concern as unnecessary.
"So, do not hesitate to fire it the moment you locate the breeding ground."
"U-understood..."
"...Hunter Sim Iyeong, make sure you stay close to the others at all times."
Sim Iyeong. She was a supporter.
I could understand why she was so nervous. I'd heard she had only recently awakened as a hunter, just like me.
On top of that, as a supporter, she was bound to feel far more vulnerable than the damage dealers or tanks.
"Haha! Don't worry, Iyeong!"
"Ah, okay..."
"I'll protect you!" Ban Haeyeong declared, thumping her chest confidently.
Well, coming from Ban Haeyeong... it wasn't an empty boast.
"Let's disperse, then," Muryeong concluded.
With that, Team 1 and Team 2 split up, heading in opposite directions.
There were several suspected breeding grounds: ponds, reservoirs, and fish farms near the coast.
The plan for this Tsushima raid was to target the locations pre-identified by the Japanese government, find the breeding grounds, and exterminate the Kappa.
They could have focused on hunting the adult Kappa first, but that would likely trigger a second wave as the eggs in the breeding grounds hatched.
Therefore, they decided to destroy all the eggs before they could hatch, and then sweep up the remaining Kappa.
It might seem underhanded in a way, but really... who cared about playing fair against monsters?
Destroying the nests first was obviously the right call. That was the only way to prevent any future trouble.
Squish.
Squish.
Still, it was incredibly annoying that the ground and asphalt were entirely covered in this bizarre slime. It clung to the soles of my shoes, stretching out with every step.
"This is annoying."
"It's Kappa mucus. Be careful not to let it touch your skin," Muryeong warned.
"Can you get infected by this too?"
"No. However, it is said to contain a mild paralytic toxin."
"The more I hear about these things, the more annoying they get."
Seriously. Fighting zombies would be a hundred times better.
Sure, they ate people and spread infection just the same, but at least zombies didn't secrete this disgusting slime, had zero intelligence, and didn't lay eggs!
It's the fact that Kappa have a shred of intelligence that makes them so irritating...
Just look at how they hid their breeding grounds.
"Urgh..."
Behind us, Maeng Juim suddenly clapped a hand over his mouth.
"What's wrong, hyung? Did you see something?"
In response to my question, Maeng Juim pointed toward a slightly tilted utility pole.
Hanging upside down from the pole were what looked like human corpses. A whole row of them.
"Bleeegh!"
In the end, Maeng Juim threw up again.
I patted his back while looking up at the pole.
One, two, three... eight, nine...
There were at least ten corpses dangling up there.
"Are those emergency rations?"
Choi Muryeong shook his head at my comment.
"It looks like a warning sign."
"A warning?"
"Looking at their attire, they aren't civilians."
"Then..."
"They appear to be the hunters Japan deployed during the initial containment attempt."
Ah. Looking closer, their clothes were indeed different. They weren't wearing civilian clothes, but tactical gear that soldiers or hunters would wear.
The monsters had killed the very people sent to subjugate them and hung them up as a warning.
This is exactly what I hate about them...
That half-baked intelligence! It was creepy.
"Either way, it means there are Kappa nearby."
"Most likely."
That was the limit of their primitive intelligence.
A warning sign, when looked at another way, was basically shouting, "We are right here."
"Looks like we're heading in the right direction."
"Yes."
Choi Muryeong took the lead once more.
Maeng Juim and I followed behind him, squelching through the thick slime.
Squish!
Ugh, seriously. I felt like pouring a whole bucket of bleach over this place.
Just as I shook the slime off my foot, Choi Muryeong stopped in his tracks.
"Shh."
Then, from just around the alleyway...
"Die! Die! Die! Die!"
Thud! Thud! Thud!
"Die! Die! Die! Die!"
Thud! Thud! Thud!
"Die! Die! Die! Die!"
Thud! Thud! Thud!
A suspicious voice echoed through the air.